Craft Rambles, Recipes, and Non-Sequiturs

Picking Up Chicks

Last fall we got chicks and now they are full blown hens and one lucky girl is trying to become a momma herself!

Inky, our old lady australorpe (adopted from another flock) has been sitting on her nest for almost just over the 21 day incubation period. She actually stole the nest out from under Ginger, the Mille Fleur D’Uccle Bantam, and I added some eggs at that point so they might be hatching late. Ginger had 16 eggs under her tiny body and I think she just couldn’t keep them warm enough. I have been candling and periodically removing bad eggs and the 6 left are heavy and warm. Fingers crossed, and we shall see what hatches if anything at all.

Meanwhile, we are adding new birds to the mix that my Mama picked up from Just Struttin Farm in Novato, CA yesterday. The two that are mine have gotten their names already.

Meet Georgie! She is a 12 week old Calico Cochin pullet who weighs next to nothing. She is a little shy, sweet and falls asleep in my lap once I’m holding her.

Kiki is a Mille Fleur Leghorn cross hen. Her coloring isn’t spectacular, but I think she fits right in with our other two Milles. She’s a bit of an escape artists and quite curious. Last night she escaped her temporary run and roosted on the tin roof of the main chicken run about 9ft up. Today she is relishing exploring the run with the rest of our flock, already comfortable and settled in.

The second pullet we brought home is the one that instigated all the new additions. My mother and I had been searching for Black Orpingtons for months. Last fall we visited another urban homesteader’s property and my Mama fell in love with the breed. I practically had to pry our hosts hens from her embrace!

The way she cradles this beautiful gal, I suspect it will be much the same in our own back yard. Though she doesn’t have a name yet, she has already proven herself a perfect fit for our microfarm. She comes up to me in the coop and is anything but skittish, almost asking to be picked up.

This is the last of the new girls, a double blue laced barnevelder. I fell in love with the blue laced red plumage on wyandottes but because of my busy schedule I didn’t feel ready to raise them from chicks. Luckily, Deann had one hen the needed a home who has just the feathers I wanted and serene, people oriented personality to boot. This photo really does no justice to her sensational coloring.

The rest of our flock is of course our Mille Fleur D’Uccle Bantams in the middle of this photo, Cinnamon, and Ginger.

These two are quite the troublemakers, occasionally upsetting our neighbors with 6am wake up calls and daytime squawking and honking as well as the loudest crow I’ve heard from such a tiny rooster. We like to joke that he is compensating for his size.

The Ameraucanas we raised from chicks, Hawk and Mary Kate.

Though both the same breed, and from the same breeder, they look quite different and so do their eggs. It’s fun to have such variety in the egg basket!

Last but not least is the 3+year old matron of our flock, Pinky. She came to us along with Inky and two others that we decided to cull out (Blinky, and Dot).

Despite her poor laying, we decided we really like her and she gets to stay by virtue of being our top hen an one of the friendliest. She too loves being held, a trait we obviously appreciate in our hens.

Post navigation

2 thoughts on “Picking Up Chicks”

love it….chicken roll call. I had a salmon Faverolle hatch 7 chicks the day after Easter. they are starting to look like chickens now -but still in danger from our local chicken snakes. thanks for a great chicken piece.